In the packaging industry, particularly but not exclusively in the area of the bagging of baked products such as buns, there is a problem of the bagged food product not being fully clipped or tied during a bag closing operation. What happens is that a portion of the open end of the bagged food product has been left unsealed.
The primary reason for this problem is that the open end of the bagged food product has not been put into a form that is most conducive to closing before the bagged food product enters into a bag closing machine.
Present methods being used to prepare the bagged food product before the bag closing operation are 1) to use a squirrel cage blower positioned above the bagged food product forcing air onto the open end thereof to force an open end of the bag downward before the bagged food product enters into the bag closing machine; 2) manually pulling an open end of the bag down and out by a manual hand operation; and 3) using a suction device to pull an open end of the bag down and out.
These methods have failed to solve the problem because they do not fully spread the open end of the bag and flatten it. By spreading the open end of the bag and flattening it, the open bag end is reduced to its minimum mass. This is particularly important whenever the bagged food product is being clipped by the bag closing machine. A connector hole in a clip is only so big and if the open bag end is folded back on itself, the connector hole in the clip cannot accept this increased bulk. A portion of the open bag end will then be left outside of the connector hole in the clip. This works much in the way that, if clothing is neatly folded and smoothed out, a suitcase can more easily accept the clothes.
Another reason that the bagged food product is not fully closed is that the open bag end has not been spread to its full length before it enters into the bag closing machine. The open bag end is of irregular shape and a portion of the open bag end will be left outside of the clipped or tied end.
Another reason that the open bag end has not been fully closed is that the open bag end has been hit with too much air forcing it downward too much and making the open bag end drag before it enters into the bag closing machine.
The squirrel cage blower method does not 1) provide adequate adjustments for positioning an air flow for diverse sizes of food product bags; and 2 provide for variation of air volume to deal with different densities of bag material being used. A food product bag which is more dense would require a higher volume of air to force the open bag end down than would a less dense bag material. If a bag material of low density were hit with a high volume of air, the open bag end would drag before entering the bag closing machine.
The manual and suction methods do not adequately achieve the desired form of the open bag end before entering the bag closing machine.
These prior art methods, while not adequately solving the primary problem, create a secondary problem being that the closed bag end, or tail as it is referred to in the industry, snags on conveyor belts used in baked goods production systems on a continuous conveyor assembly. This snagging is caused by the tail protruding downward whereby it is frequently caught by the conveyor belt.
This prior art problem is solved by the open bag end being in a spread and flattened form when it enters into the bag closing machine. After the bagged food product leaves the bag closing machine, the tail of the bagged package will be in a generally horizontal position. This greatly decreases the chances of it being caught in the conveyor belt and, thereby, resulting in damage or loss of the food product.
An additional problem that is not associated with bag closing but which should be solved prior to bag closing is that of excess air in the finished bagged product. A finished bagged product with excess air is difficult to fit into shipping containers and this can result in food product damage or loss. This excess air problem can be solved by expelling air out of the bagged food product by means of air forced onto the top of the bagged food product which forces air out of an open bag end.
It is noted that tearing of the open bag end by the bag closing machine would be greatly reduced by putting the open end of the bag into a spread and flattened form prior to entry into the bag closing machine.